Good Cause

By the time you finish reading this post, someone in the United States will have learned they have blood cancer. That’s according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), whose dedicated mission is to cure the 1.3 million Americans afflicted by blood cancer’s various diagnoses. With over $1.2 billion invested in research across 300 active projects, LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer. And they need your help.

That’s why Shea Homes® in Arizona is honored to partner with Shea Mortgage®, Academy Mortgage®, Shasta Pools®, and Fidelity National Title Agency® to raise $50,000 for Light the Night, all of which benefits LLS. This series of fundraisers culminates in powerful, nationwide walks as 1 million survivors with their family and friends will join together to illuminate what is often the darkest time in a person’s life. The gathering will have survivors holding white lanterns, those remembering a loved one holding yellow, and supporters of the cause carrying red. Each color – white, yellow, and red – is a motif echoing the blood cells and bone marrow that are affected by these diseases.Registration for the walk is free, and all are welcome, but LLS encourages anyone to help raise funds for this critical mission. Currently, there is no prevention or early screening for blood cancers. Consequently, LLS has focused its research agenda on discovering cures, which has led to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics, and personalized medicine. Many patients have seen survival rates double, triple, and in some cases quadruple, while LLS has even cured certain blood cancers entirely. Still, more than one third of blood cancer patients do not survive more than five years after their diagnosis, meaning there is a dire need for further research. A small donation can help save a life. It could even be the man, woman, or child that received their diagnosis as you’ve been reading.